Monday, July 27, 2009

Ever wonder what it must be like to see past what's truly in front of you? To be able to live on another level? To exist in another state of mind?

Throughout the past few years, Big Ten fans have witnessed Tim Brewster's infamous hype-machine. It's obvious he sees things that simple folk just can't see. He's just that much more in tune than everyone else.

Now, for a limited time, you too can see what Tim Brewster sees with the all-new BREWSTER GOOGLES! WOOOOOOOOO!

There are literally millions of uses for the Brewster Googles; some examples include:

Friday, July 17, 2009

As reported by Rob Howe on Hawkeyenation.com, Zach McCabe has given the Iowa Basketball Staff his verbal commitment. The verbal rounds out the 2010 class, which includes Larson, Marble, and Brust. Coach Lickliter had four targets for the 2010 class and he landed all four... something that is just GREAT to see.

McCabe, a two-sport stud out of Heelan and former teammate of current Hawk Brennan Cougill, recently did very well at an AAU tournament. Offers began pouring in, and some fans were worried that Iowa had lost its chance to land him.

Zach is a legit 6'6" who has range, but can also finish around the basket. He has decent hands and ball-handling for his height. Last summer, McCabe was out of the spotlight, as the #1 ranked player in the land, Harrison Barnes, was the main man on All-Iowa Attack. This summer, however, scouts have seen what McCabe can bring to the table.

When Barnes left his All-Iowa Attack AAU team this summer to play for Howard Pulley, it was a blessing in disguise for Sioux City wing Zach McCabe, who proved to be one of the best shooters in the country. He recently picked up an offer from Minnesota, Virginia, Utah and Arizona State this week.

Several players on the Spiece Indy Stars 15-and-under team have taken to Twitter and have quickly developed a following. Jeremy Hollowell, a 6-6 sophomore-to-be from Lawrence Central, had 222 followers as of Thursday.

"A lot of the college coaches are on there," Hollowell said. "I like having it on my phone because I can do it anywhere."

Hollowell took a visit to Indiana University earlier this month and has an unofficial visit to Purdue scheduled for Aug. 1. He previously had scholarship offers from Cincinnati and Iowa, and on Thursday Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio State and Xavier offered, said Hawkins.

Will this force Lickliter to get a Twitter Account? Will he need it to compete with TomCrean for Hollowell's services?

If coaches are able to talk to recruits basically by texting, isn't that illegal? It certainly is a grey area. Not sure how long the NCAA lets this go.

The message boards, Twitter accounts, Facebook statuses lit up from the Iowa media and fans yesterday when it was made known that the Iowa Hawkeye Men's Basketball Program had received its second commitment for the 2010 class in Ben Brust. Brust, a 6'2" shooting guard out of Mundelein, IL, is the second consecutive recruit for Iowa out of the Chicagoland area (Cully Payne being the other one). Brust is a SG with deep range, great BB IQ, and underrated defensive skills. Links to many article below.

“It is official … I’m going to be Hawkeye,” Brust told me. "I did all my homework, and I know this is what the right place,” he said. “It’s a great college town, the atmosphere … academically it’s what I’m looking for in a school." Brust, a 6-foot-2 incoming senior at Mundelein High School, averaged 28 points a game last year as a high school junior before breaking his leg. He said he’s completely healed from that injury.

Iowa, though, is the fortunate one, landing Brust before he potentially played himself up during July. While Brust is not in the category of difference-maker, he is a step up for the program and is underrated nationally. He's a 6-2 scorer who is more bouncy and athletic than most people give him credit it for. And he puts the ball in the hole, both as a shooter, off the bounce and as a slasher. He's a multi-faceted scorer who will certainly provide a lift for an Iowa program that finished 5-13 in the Big Ten last season.

There is no question that Brust is one of the premier shooters in the state of Illinois and just might be the best that there is from the class of 2010. He has range that extends well beyond the 3-point line, a quick release and the ability to get his shot either spotting up or coming off the dribble. However, there are also other parts of Brust's game that get taken for granted. For one, he is much more athletic than a lot of people give him credit for. He has also greatly improved his ball handling skills. To top it all off, he is also an outstanding student and a gym rat with a work ethic that is second to none.

Brust verbally committed to the Hawkeyes Wednesday, selecting Iowa over scholarship offers from Northwestern and Butler. Brust said Stanford had shown interest and was beginning to study his transcripts when he settled on the Hawkeyes, joining Sioux Falls, S.D., forward Cody Larson in Iowa's 2010 recruiting class. He'll also join Payne -- they have been buddies since middle school when they met through basketball in the Chicago suburbs -- in the Iowa backcourt when Brust arrives on campus.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

1.) A coach that is just great on Twitter (great being a large blanket adjective that you can construe any way you want), yet just awful at actual coaching. Examples: Tim Brewster, Ron Zook.

2.) A coach that is just awful on Twitter, yet great at actual coaching. Example: Tom Crean.

Not only does Coach Crean incorrectly use homonyms (are/our, your/you're) on a regular basis and forget modifiers (like... say... "not"), but he Tweets about reality TV. Brewster and Zook's Twits are pure comedy for several reasons (head to BHGP for the breakdown), yet Crean's just make me cringe.

I realize Twitter isn't the place for the Grammar Police, but you have to step back and look at what you are putting out their [sic] for your recruits. Because we all know these Twitter accounts are nothing but "legal" forms of communication to potential college athletes.

I am still dreading the day Lickliter and Ferentz are forced to open their Twitter accounts.